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NewToFibro

New member
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
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7
Reason
DX FIBRO
Diagnosis
03/2014
Country
US
State
GA
So I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in March (2014) and started taking 60mg off cymbalta (30 twice a day) and have relief from the pain and most of the fatigue. Except, here is the problem...

Before the pain and fatigue started I was working 50-60 hours a week in a high stress environment, I have 2 wonderful boys (6,3) and all the craziness that comes with that, along with all the general everyday stuff that one has to accomplish. When the pain and fatigue were at their worst I decided to take a leave of absence and eventually quit working all together. At this time I only take care of boys (both in preschool/ kindergarten) and the house. Now don't get me wrong, I love being able to be there for them and my husband, and have truely enjoyed the extra stress-free alone/quiet time but I wonder will I ever be able to really work again? I feel like the medicine is only working because of the significantly reduced hours/stree level. Doing things outside my normal routine immediately bring back on the symptoms. For instance, volunteering to be a chaperone on a kindergarten zoo trip had me lying on the couch the whole next day. Will it always be like this?

Any advice will be appreciated.
 
Welcome to the forum, NewToFibro... I hope you'll be able to get the answers to a lot of your questions by looking back over things that have been posted here in the past. There's a total wealth of information on the forum.

I'm sorry that you're going to have to be dealing with this now. I can't really answer your question about whether it will always be like that because I don't know. I'm here because of friends and family with fibro that I'm trying to help and none of them have ever discussed or researched that question with me.

I think the important part, especially at first when you're getting used to the lifestyle changes, is to first find ways to best manage the pain... then the long-term thinking will naturally happen later. But first things first is probably a good approach.
 
Hi I understand what you are going through. I can only tell you what my doctor told me when she diagnosed me. There will be good days and really bad days with just painful days between. She said it never really goes away. Your pain is triggered by something that you need to discover. Once you find your trigger, you need to avoid it as much as you can. In the mean time, do your best to get low impact exercise, and keep the stress down. Which I know is next to impossible with children.
I wish I could tell you that it will go away, but I can't. I have heard of some people who have been misdiagnosed, or that have found the triggers and eliminated them from their lives and the bad days have basicaly disappeareed. But they still have bad days, just not as often.
I have looked for my trigger, but it seems it is life situations more then a particular part of my life that brings mine one.
 
Hi NewToFibro and welcome. Fibro is one of those wonderful things that no two people experience it the same way. Please be patient with yourself as it takes time to find your triggers if you find them. Focus on the good things in your life and make the best of good days. Is there any way you can work from home? Good luck.
 
Hi! Welcome to the board. My take on it is like fibromite2 said. There are good days and bad days. It's just like being diabetic. I have great days where I feel pretty good and then two days where I feel like nothing I do can keep my blood sugar in check. Same with CFS, I feel like there are great days where I'm energetic and then boom, I'm out of the game. It's hard, there's no doubt about that but I definitely think it's really dependent on the person. What might work for me, might not work for someone else. I think that there's that relief that comes with a diagnosis when you've been feeling terrible and suddenly have an answer, and then there's the overwhelming part where you have no idea what to do next.

For me, I found that working from home was easier on me than going to an actual job. Putting in the hours at a "regular" job just didn't work. I felt like I was working, sleeping, getting sick, working, constantly in pain. It just wasn't worth it to me. And that's okay! My mom used to work a pretty demanding job and she was constantly in pain, tired ect. Finally, a few months ago, she quit her job to watch my nephew and it's almost like she's a new person. It worked for her to switch careers and I can see a really positive difference in her. You will find your groove and know your limits. When you do, you can decide if going back to work is right for you. Maybe you can go back to work but maybe not work as much.
 
Welcome to the forum, newtofibro. To be quite honest with you... I don't think someone in this forum really knows if things will always be like this for you, because people experience fibro in a different way. Some people can be fine for months, others seem to be always feeling awful. I'm one of those persons who can be fine for months, then have a flare and feel awful. Sometimes things are going so well I forget I have fibro, and start thinking that I might actually don't have it, but then I have a flare and feel disappointed again. That's how it is. I lived in denial for a while, it wasn't until quite recently I understood this will never go away and I better find a way to deal with it.

My best advice to you would be to learn more about the disease, do so by exploring this forum and interacting with its members! It will come in handy to learn coping skills, believe me!
 
Some people do get better with time. I am hoping to get better someday in the future. It is often about finding a treatment routine that really works. You need to work to get as much rest as you can.
 
Some people do get better with time. I am hoping to get better someday in the future. It is often about finding a treatment routine that really works. You need to work to get as much rest as you can.

I think it's very important to keep this hope alive. Some days it's going to feel like a mockery, but... well, I can't even imagine what it would be like without that glimmer of "I am hoping to get better someday in the future."
 
First off, Thank you all for you responses. I truly appreciate the support of the group.

I will say that when I posted that I was in a particularly bad moment of "why me" but after seeing everyone's responses and reading more about it on this site I am starting to have a whole new outlook on the situation.

I'm beginning to see the so called "bright side" of the situation. For instance, instead of saying how bad it was to sit on the couch for two days after the filed trip I realized that if I were still working I never would have gone at all. That was an experience I was able to enjoy that I normally would have missed out on and the only (non-physical) side effect was that we ate frozen pizza for two days and I didn't get the laundry (or any other household chores) done. All in all not a bad trade off.

I agree with everyone. I know that this will probably never go away; but, hoping for the best and remembering the things I've gained has made a tremendous difference in my outlook. Don't get me wrong I know I will have the "why me" days crop up forever but as long as I make sure I stop and look at the whole story I think maybe it will all work out.

In the meantime I'm going to try all of those pickling recipes I never got around to trying...
 
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